by Riker Kane
“How about that?” Quentin muttered to me. “We came here to save the world and they’re keeping score…”
“Don’t act like that doesn’t give you some added motivation,” I said.
We both looked at one another. It only took a few seconds for him to smirk.
“We keep track of everything here in the Junction Room,” Janice continued. “Everything you need to succeed will be provided for you here.”
“All right, all right, all right,” Elliot spoke up again. “Go to Pandora. Close the Junctions. Beat the World Boss. End the threat. When do I get a sword—”
“You don’t know when to keep your mouth shut, do you, private?”
Everybody turned toward Adviser Campbell as he suddenly appeared behind us. The recruits parted to make way for him. He was already intimidating enough from the scarred skin and sneer on his face. But the suit of scuffed light-blue armor made him look like he was about to step inside of a hockey rink. He rested his palm on the hilt of the sword resting on his belt as he looked at all of us.
“Find me a gate,” he said to Janice. “Lowest you can find.”
“I already have one ready, sir. That one right behind you.”
“This way.” He spun around and began walking toward it.
We moved toward one of the large circles lining the wall. It was like a giant picture frame resting on a steel foundation. The circle itself was cut with precision and polished to a shine. It wouldn’t have been that interesting outside of how large it was but within it, the same indistinguishable energy radiated all over it. It was like looking down at the surface of gentle water through a giant window.
“This is a Pandora Junction.” Campbell pointed at it while he looked at all of us. “Shadows came to us from another dimension, looking to take us out. This is our way of getting to them. This is our way of taking them out before they can get anywhere near innocent civilians. They can’t hurt anybody if we hurt them first. That’s your duty as an Omega.”
Janice grabbed our attention and pointed to the digital display on the podium next to the Junction. “You’ll find all of the relevant information on the Junction here.”
Pandora Junction
Level 1
Threat Level: Low
Precautions: None
“This indicates how strong and what level the threats are through this Junction. The precautions point out other variables you might need to look out for. Falling rocks. Rainy weather. Volcanoes. Anything that might make dealing with the threats more dangerous.”
“Volcanoes?” Quentin raised an eyebrow at me, some noticeable concern in his eyes.
I put a hand on his shoulder and did my best to hold back my smirk as everybody turned their attention back to Campbell.
“You will be choosing your class shortly,” Campbell announced. “But before you make your decision, you need to know what you’re dealing with. Obey my instructions at all times. Stay close. Do not wander. If anything goes wrong, step back through the gate. Understood?”
He barked it loud enough for everybody to quickly nod in agreement. He eyeballed all of us one by one. “Okay. Let’s go.”
He stepped forward through the gate and disappeared into the wave of blue energy.
The recruits looked around at one another. Janice hid her smile behind her hand and nodded. “Don’t worry. The threats aren’t anything Adviser Campbell won’t be able to handle.”
“I’ve been waiting too long for this.” Elliot rubbed his hands together and stepped into the gate. More recruits followed him one by one.
I looked at Quentin and gave him a shrug before we both stepped through the energy together.
~ ~ ~
A blinding white light flashed bright enough I could see it even when I shut my eyes. I held my breath and kept walking forward until suddenly stumbling. A deep gasp filled my lungs as soon as I regained my footing.
“What the…”
The scent of fresh soil and foliage hit my nose first. I blinked my eyes open wider to make sure I was looking at it correctly. The metal walls of the Junction Room were gone. There were no scientists walking around. There was no giant digital display.
There was only a clear blue sky with the sun shining bright above. Beneath my feet, the grass was as lush and green as I’d ever seen it. In the distance, there was a cluster of pine trees making up a forest that blocked out the path to the east.
The other recruits all looked around in amazement, taking in their surroundings like they weren’t sure what they were looking at.
“Holy crap…” Quentin muttered underneath his breath.
I turned around and saw the Junction was still there. The entrance through the circular gate continued to pulse with the same blue energy like the surface of water.
“Recruits!” Campbell’s voice boomed and got everybody’s attention. He pulled his sword from his hip and then pointed toward a hill opposite from the forest next to us. “Do you see it?”
On top of the hill, there was something. A faint purple energy resonating. I squinted to try and get a better look but could only make out the outline of something.
“That’s where we’re headed. Stay close. You go wandering off and I’ll drag you back through the Junction unconscious if I have to.”
Campbell marched forward through the grass with his sword resting on his shoulder. We all walked behind him, each one of us still trying to get over our new surroundings.
“One minute we’re in a room, the next we’re out in the middle of some valley.” Quentin shook his head in disbelief.
Elliot walked up next to us. “It’s weird. But I don’t see why they would need Omegas. Green grass. Blue sky. Sun’s out. The weather’s perfect for a picnic. I don’t see why Campbell has that sword—”
A roar screeched through the air and stopped everybody in their tracks. I shifted my head around in every direction to see where it had come from.
“What is that?”
“Did you hear something?”
“I don’t see anything.”
The recruits murmured among one another while they looked around. I was just as confused but when I looked at Campbell, I saw he had his sword in both hands. He stared forward, locking his attention on something I couldn’t see.
Suddenly, the sky began to crackle with electricity. I narrowed my eyes and watched the lines of white energy pulse in the air just in front of Campbell.
“Look…” I said it under my breath.
Everybody had their attention on the white lines pulsing like thunder in the sky. The snaps and pops of the energy grew louder until suddenly a white flash appeared. In the blink of an eye, something leaped out of the light and landed in front of Campbell.
A wolf bared its fangs and snarled at Campbell. Its fur and mane were a dark shade of gray. The points of its claws dug into the grass. But what stood out more than anything else were its eyes. Empty pupils with nothing but black looked back at us.
The wolf was the size of a great dane, which made some of the recruits step back cautiously.
Campbell held his palm out to us while his other hand raised the sword. “Stay back.”
The wolf growled with a lunge right at the Adviser. He responded by taking a step forward and slashing at the wolf. The slice was so fast the wolf fell to the ground and split in two well after Campbell had returned his sword to his hip. Everybody watched in amazement as the wolf’s remains faded. But it wasn’t gone completely. There was faint energy resonating in small spheres.
“Red. Blue. Green.” Campbell pointed out the colors of the energy. “The Mana that powers this dimension and others like it is what we will use to defeat it. Your communicator will automatically absorb all of the Mana when you’re in its vicinity.”
Campbell motioned for one of the recruits to come forward. A young brunette woman stepped toward the Mana and it flew into her communicator just as he said. While everybody marveled at what just happened, Campbell continued to nonchalantly march f
orward.
“This is a low-level dimension,” he said. “There are no major threats. Even a lowly recruit will be able to handle what’s in here. But make no mistake about it. The Shadows want to destroy. Their objective has never changed. Don’t let them complete their objective.”
The group walked up the hill toward the resonating energy. The closer I got to it, the more I could see where it was coming from. A monolith stood about ten-feet high as thick as a redwood tree trunk. It glowed with a faint purple energy like nothing I’d ever seen before.
“Stay back.” Campbell put his hand up and we all stood a few meters away from it. “This is an Obelisk. When the pathways to Pandora were opened, the first ones brave enough to venture through them searched for a way to close the dimension the Shadows came from. They found that all of the Mana resonated from one spot. When they destroyed the Obelisk, the dimension collapsed on itself.”
He pointed his sword at the Obelisk. “This is how we stop the Shadows from coming to Earth. Destroy the Obelisk and you destroy the dimension and everything within it. As soon as you step back through the Junction, you won’t be able to return, so make sure you settle all your business here.”
Campbell raised his sword and swiped. The metal crashed into the Obelisk and shattered it like glass. The purple energy flowed from it like smoke, rising into the sky before eventually fading.
“Any questions?”
Everybody looked at one another. It was completely silent as the wind howled softly in the background. Elliot slowly raised his hand and we all turned to him.
“So… When do I get a sword?”
Campbell gritted his teeth and raised his chin up. He gave the blond a beady-eyed stare I’d seen enough times before. For a second, I thought he was gonna pull his sword up and stab Elliot’s other hand. But instead, he looked at all of us and nodded. “Head back through the Junction. It’s time to choose your class.”
9: First Lessons
“Zero percent! Zero! Can you believe it? Three-percent’s believable. Two, I get it. But one? They couldn’t gimme one! I’d take one. Zero, Liam!”
Quentin began jogging in place to show off his ‘speed.’ He wasn’t fat but he had a noticeable paunch and a babyface that didn’t match the rest of him.
“Look at me. I’m fast, right? I’m quick!”
Despite the disappointment on Quentin’s face, I couldn’t hold back a smile. He held his head down dejectedly and sighed out of breath as he stared at the information on the tablet.
While the other recruits stood in the main hall of the Nerve Center and went over their compatibility results, I had to put a hand on Quentin’s shoulder to console him.
“It’s not so bad,” I said. “You got great results for Vanguard.”
“Pfft! Vanguard… Captain Bell isn’t really my style. On the other hand, Captain Valentine…” Quentin’s continued dejection made it even harder for me to hold back my laugh. But I knew how much it meant to him, even if it was only to gawk at his potential instructor.
“You gotta look at the big picture. You saw Pandora for yourself. That wolf Campbell killed was the lowest threat level. Imagine what kinda vicious Shadows are lurking through the more dangerous gates. Wouldn’t you wanna be in the best position possible to win?”
Quentin continued to pore over his results, his lips twisted as he considered it. “To be honest with you, I don’t like running very much. Being a Strider looks pretty exhausting.”
“There you go! Forget being a Strider. Pick up a shield and be a Vanguard. Steve Rogers style.”
He sighed a deep breath and shrugged. “The digital Sorting Hat is a cruel mistress. Couldn’t even give me one-percent.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Where are your results?”
“Oh… That…” I wondered whether or not to tell him. I figured it’d be best to keep it a secret, since there was no way of knowing if it was the big deal Campbell said it was. “Don’t worry. I’ve got an inclination of what I need to pick.”
“Okay, recruits.” Janice got everybody’s attention. “You’ve had a chance to look at your results. Remember, it’s only a test to screen you for where you’ll have the highest chance to succeed. If you have an inclination for another class, there’s nothing wrong with going with your gut. You also have the chance to change classes if you want to.
“But now it’s decision time. When you’ve made your choice, come to me and I’ll update your file. Then you’ll be heading to one of the training labs on the second floor to meet with your Captains.”
The recruits all began lining up to tell Janice what they’ve decided. I stood with Quentin at the back of the line, still pondering over the details in my head.
“You’re not picking Vanguard, are you?” Quentin asked.
I shook my head.
“I figured as much… I guess that means we won’t be taking the same lessons.”
“That’s all right,” I said. “How about we train hard and learn as much as we can? Then we step into Pandora together.”
“I’ll be a Vanguard and you can be… whatever it is you’re going to be. Sounds like a plan.” Quentin sighed a deep breath through his nose, seemingly over his lost chance of spending time with the Captain he had a crush on. “Can’t wait to step into Pandora for real…”
~ ~ ~
On the second floor of the Nerve Center, the training labs were less than half the size of the Drill Rooms. The ceilings were still high but there was nothing interesting to look at. The walls were the same steel as the rest of the building. The black floor beneath my shoes was polished to a shine. Up above, blue lights softly illuminated me and the other three recruits who stood by my side.
“State your name. One by one.”
Captain Hamilton appeared just as I remembered. The Cavalier stood rigidly with his hands behind his back. His brown hair had a neat part on his head. His cheeks were chiseled like the men in the modeling portfolios Adam always made me look at. Hamilton had a regal air about him. It was almost snooty. I figured he was just confident though, so I didn’t hold it against him. I even gave him a pass for his mustache.
“Douglas Jamison.”
“Paige Costa.”
“Brian Reynolds.”
“Liam Aldridge.”
Hamilton walked up and down the line as he observed us all one by one. His armored feet clanked against the granite with every step, echoing through the silent room. I noticed some anxiety from the other recruits but I stayed patient.
“Do any of you have any combat experience? Do you know what it’s like to wield a sword in battle?” Nobody said anything. “No, I don’t suppose you do. What practical use does a sword have in the real world? The only reason someone would bother wielding a blade is to deal with the threats in Pandora. And that’s why you’re all here.”
He moved in front of us and straightened up, eying us one by one. “Most recruits come here because of the brochure. They see the chance to hold a weapon, strap on some armor, and get stronger. They treat it like a game.” Hamilton shook his head. “This isn’t a game. The LOD is an institution intent on keeping the world safe. If you’re ever going to make it as an Omega, you have to remember that more than anything else.
“I’m sure Campbell mentioned this to you all before but I have to reiterate. You will have to fight. You will have to push yourselves. You will hurt. You will bleed. You will sweat. But if you keep going, you will succeed.”
We remained silent as Hamilton continued closely observing us.
“What is a Cavalier? The perfect combination of speed, power, grace, and intuition. You won’t overpower anybody. You won’t take a better blow. You won’t be the fastest either. But I will teach you everything you need to know to succeed as the one leading the charge into battle.”
He pulled his sword from his hip and held it up. “Tempered steel. Powered by the Blue Mana you’ll find in Pandora. This weapon has slain countless beasts.”
The blade was about two-inches wide, th
ick enough to slap someone with. Its edge was undeniably sharp. The shining gray steel led down to a black hilt long enough for Hamilton to place both of his hands upon. At the top of the hilt where it met the blade, a blue Core resonated with a faint smoke-like aura.
“Gage was kind enough to temper training sabers for you.” Hamilton pointed toward the table to the side where the weapons rested. “Each of you take one.”
I remembered Elliot and how eager he was to get his hands on one. I held back a smile, doing my best to hold back my enthusiasm. I picked one of the blades up with both hands and immediately noticed how considerable the weight was. My grip tightened around the smooth, black leather hilt and I was able to hold it up in front of me.
My communicator vibrated and the weapon information flashed on the display.
Steel Training Saber
Damage Rating: F
Core: None
An ‘F’ damage rating. No Core. Everything about it was as bare as possible. But there was a certain satisfaction about wielding a weapon for myself.
“Your saber is an extension of you,” Hamilton said. “Get used to how it feels in your palms. Move it around and see how the weight shifts. Picture it cutting your target. Remember the smell of the steel.”
“The smell?” Douglas raised an eyebrow.
“The smell can help you gauge the distance of where your blade is.” Hamilton closed his eyes and slashed right at the recruit, stopping the blade just short of the tip of his nose. Douglas stood there, too paralyzed to move in a combination of fear and confusion. His throat bobbed up and down with a swallow as he stared at the steel right next to his face.
“The smell.” Hamilton opened his eyes and smirked. “When the time comes and you find a Mana Core, Engineer Gage will improve your saber or perhaps craft you a new one entirely. The weapon you’re carrying now will be more than adequate. Now…”
He moved toward the center of the room and held his hand out. “First move, basic slash.” He raised the sword over his head and brought it down in front of him. “Simple to perform. Easy to land. Covers the most surface area. Good damage. Even if the blow isn’t fatal, it will make them bleed. When your strength is high enough, you can cleave a target in two.”
